The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has warned that the non-renewal of licenses for Long-Distance International (LDI) operators may disrupt mobile and internet services and ATMs in the country.
According to a PTA document, 50% of mobile traffic and 10% of internet traffic likely to be affected by the licenses issue.
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The document stated that several mobile towers may go out of service, and 40% of ATMs may stop working. The global traffic coming to Pakistan may also be impacted as shifting services to other operators may affect global communications.
The issue revolves around a dispute between telecom companies and the Ministry of IT over the payment of dues.
The ministry’s steering committee has also failed to formulate a plan for the payment of dues, and the PTA has made the renewal of licenses conditional on the payment of these dues.
Furthermore, licenses for 3-4 LDI companies have already expired, and some others will expire in a few months. However, companies have approached the court to keep their services operational.
The document revealed that 9 telecom companies owe Rs. 24 billion to the Ministry of IT and Rs. 54 billion in late payment surcharges.
